My father took care of all our family’s financial matters, even though my mother had been working from an early age. He handled her taxes, investments, and banking needs, and she never tried to understand them. Unintentionally, I followed the same legacy. Though I started earning young and managed my own money, my financial decisions were limited to safe and familiar options. Whenever my banker friends suggested schemes, I blindly followed their advice without taking the initiative to truly understand them.
After my father’s passing, I stepped into his role, managing everything for our family. At the time, my mother was a pensioner and also entitled to his family pension, but the process to claim it involved multiple banking procedures that overwhelmed her. I took charge, while limiting her involvement to physical appearances and signatures. That was when I realized—she was comfortable only with withdrawing and depositing money,
Later, when I founded Pink Umbrella Elder Support, our team assisted senior women with banking tasks. We noticed a common pattern—many of them struggled to manage multiple accounts, track interest deposits, order cheque books, or use an ATM card confidently. Even basic banking processes felt overwhelming to them.
Financial issues faced by Senior Women
Struggles with Pension & Retirement Benefits
Senior women after the demise of their spouse often face difficulties in accessing their pension and retirement benefits due to lack of familiarity with banking procedures. Even after decades of work, they struggle with documentation and financial formalities.
Vulnerability to Fraud & Financial Exploitation
Many elderly women become easy targets for fraud, as they lack awareness about digital banking security and legal rights. They often trust family members or outsiders blindly, leading to financial loss.
Difficulty in Managing Banking Transactions
Tasks like maintaining multiple bank accounts, tracking fixed deposits, ordering cheque books, or using ATM cards become overwhelming. This discourages them from independently managing their finances.
Financial Abuse & Dependence on Family Member
Some elderly women face financial abuse, where their pensions or savings are controlled by their children or other relatives. Fear of confrontation and lack of financial literacy make them vulnerable.
Reason of this fear
In India’s patriarchal society, financial decisions were traditionally made by men, while women were expected to focus on household duties. Generational norms taught girls to rely on fathers, husbands, or sons for financial matters, with little encouragement or education in money management. Even educated women were excluded from financial decisions, fearing mistakes due to inexperience. Many had limited control over their earnings, further reducing financial independence. Breaking these deep-rooted norms requires promoting financial literacy and empowerment among women.
These experiences set my thoughts into motion. I realized financial awareness among senior women is so low and why this pattern continues across generations. It made me realize that beyond offering human support, we must actively work towards educating and discussing these issues to our mothers to take charge of their finances.
